Database Develop

[Guide] How to update firmware and retain root (all versions)

The following guide will allow you to upgrade firmware via OTA and retain root.
This method will work for moving up from any 10.0.x on EU and non EU variants of the 7t Pro including the McLaren edition, just ensure you set the correct device variant in Oxygen Updater
PREREQUISITE: Must be on rooted 10.0.x firmware before following the below guide
1) Download the Oxygen Updater app from the play store
2) Open Oxygen Updater - Go to settings and ensure you have your device set to the correct model e.g 'EU' and the update method is set to 'full update'
3) Download the latest available update but DO NOT install it
4) Navigate to Android settings>System>System update
5) Hit settings and then local update
6) Select the file downloaded from Oxygen Updater (will be on the root of your internal memory)
7) Wait for it to install and ensure you DO NOT reboot at the end
8) Go to Magisk manager and disable/delete any modules you have installed (will screw your device up if you leave them enabled)
9) In Magisk manager select install then 'install to inactive slot (After OTA)'
10) Reboot and you should be on the latest firmware with root retained
11) If you have Magisk modules you want enabled again don't just hit enable - remove them totally and redownload them before enabling
Note: you can use the system update menu in settings to obtain your OTA update, I use the oxygen updater method purely because they seem to distribute the firmware quicker in some regions. Just make sure you don't reboot after installation and then continue from step 8.
Hope this helps!

Mate your a star couldn't get magisk to stick done your way worked a charm

jaythenut said:
Mate your a star couldn't get magisk to stick done your way worked a charm
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're welcome, I've had so much help from XDA over the years it's nice to give something back when I can :good:

daveuk87 said:
You're welcome, I've had so much help from XDA over the years it's nice to give something back when I can :good:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah it's good to help noobs like me ?

After I update from 10.03 to 10.0.4 still can't get root
And I finding the patch boot for 10.0.4 now

ricky886 said:
After I update from 10.03 to 10.0.4 still can't get root
And I finding the patch boot for 10.0.4 now
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, as mentioned this is only for a clean upgrade from rooted 10.0.3 to 10.0.4. if you updated the firmware without this method you will lose root and need to source or create a patched 10.0.4 boot.img to root again.

daveuk87 said:
I've been asked a couple of times privately how I upgraded from 10.0.3 to 10.0.4 and maintained root on the EU OP7t Pro so thought I'd drop this here for anyone else curious;
PREREQUISITE: Must be on rooted 10.0.3 EU firmware before following the below guide
1) Download the Oxygen Updater app from the play store
2) Open Oxygen Updater - Go to settings and ensure you have your device set to the EU model and the update method is set to 'full update'
3) Download the 10.0.4 update but DO NOT install it
4) Navigate to Android settings>System>System update
5) Hit settings and then local update
6) Select the file downloaded from Oxygen Updater (will be on the root of your internal memory)
7) Wait for it to install and ensure you DO NOT reboot at the end
8) Go to Magisk manager and disable/delete any modules you have installed (will screw your device up if you leave them enabled)
9) Select install then 'install to inactive slot (After OTA)'
10) Reboot and you should be on 10.0.4 with root retained
11) If you have Magisk modules you want enabled again don't just hit enable - remove them totally and redownload them before enabling
Hope this helps simplify the upgrade for someone out there.
This works for the McLaren variant also (people keep asking whether there are differences in the process)
This will also work for the global firmware that released a couple of days back, just ensure you set the correct device in Oxygen Updater
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sir, can you upload your root boot?
thanks

ricky886 said:
Sir, can you upload your root boot?
thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If you're after the 10.0.3 rooted boot image check out @HolyChickenGuy 's thread. He sorted out the initial root of 10.0.3
His thread is here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/7t...-3-patched-boot-image-oneplus-7t-pro-t3986351

How the hell do you properly mention someone on the XDA app? Normal web syntax doesn't seem to work
Edit: ok it works but doesn't tag blue like a link

daveuk87 said:
If you're after the 10.0.3 rooted boot image check out @HolyChickenGuy 's thread. He sorted out the initial root of 10.0.3
His thread is here: https://forum.xda-developers.com/7t...-3-patched-boot-image-oneplus-7t-pro-t3986351
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried it, this is not working with root

ricky886 said:
I tried it, this is not working with root
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So you're stock 10.0.3 right now? No root? If so his boot image/method will definitely get you rooted, many, many of us have used his image..when done come here and follow upgrade instructions to get to 10.0.4. or alternatively wait for someone to dish out a patched image for 10.0.4. I don't have one myself as I upgraded from the previous firmware

daveuk87 said:
So you're stock 10.0.3 right now? No root? If so his boot image/method will definitely get you rooted, many, many of us have used his image..when done come here and follow upgrade instructions to get to 10.0.4. or alternatively wait for someone to dish out a patched image for 10.0.4. I don't have one myself as I upgraded from the previous firmware
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, I am using 10.0.4 global version now:crying:

ricky886 said:
No, I am using 10.0.4 global version now:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ah in that case you're a bit stuck temporarily. Maybe hit up @HolyChickenGuy he seems pretty active in this forum

ricky886 said:
No, I am using 10.0.4 global version now:crying:
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just found this no idea if it works but can't hurt to try
https://www-gizmochina-com.cdn.ampp...1/17/oneplus-7t-pro-magisk-auto-install-tool/

Hi @daveuk87,
you don't actually need the Oxygen Updater, as long as you're going to update through internal updater. Oxygen Updater might get usefull, when we get TWRP.
But if you're rooted, but without custom recovery simply do the following steps:
1. Go to Settings>System>System update
2. Select "Download & Install"
3. Follow Steps 7 - 11 from OP.
Did exactly that and it worked without issues.

Sajito said:
Hi @daveuk87,
you don't actually need the Oxygen Updater, as long as you're going to update through internal updater. Oxygen Updater might get usefull, when we get TWRP.
But if you're rooted, but without custom recovery simply do the following steps:
1. Go to Settings>System>System update
2. Select "Download & Install"
3. Follow Steps 7 - 11 from OP.
Did exactly that and it worked without issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You're absolutely right but the update wasn't showing for me at the time of writing so it's just to get around that if it hasn't rolled out to you officially yet

daveuk87 said:
9) Select install then 'install to inactive slot (After OTA)'
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just want to make sure i get this right lol am I right to assume this is in magisk manager?

dillup said:
Just want to make sure i get this right lol am I right to assume this is in magisk manager?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It is yes

6) Select the file downloaded from Oxygen Updater (will be on the root of your internal memory)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could not install the update . Getting error

jfm91 said:
Could not install the update . Getting error
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Same here but got the update through the phone then just done the magisk stuff

Update android 10

I have an Asus rog phone 2 tencent version with rom WW-16.0640.1908.12, i can't update to android 10, i don't receive ota update and if i try to install ww-17 rom donwloaded from asus site i receive an error, what can be the problem?
i see that the last ww-16 update on the asus site is WW-16.0631.1910.64, my rom version isn't on the site, is it possible?

if you click the link, it will send you to ebay. clickbait detected

verioananta said:
if you click the link, it will send you to ebay. clickbait detected
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
which link?

I have exactly the same issue, with same version (I bought it via ebay).
I also tried to update android to 10 manually, but the message is "installation failed".
If you find a solution please share, I'll do the same.

bryan1981 said:
I have exactly the same issue, with same version (I bought it via ebay).
I also tried to update android to 10 manually, but the message is "installation failed".
If you find a solution please share, I'll do the same.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i bought it via ebay too
i think now the only possibility is to install the update in fastboot mode but I've had some problems in the past with other phones, and I wouldn't want to have any with this too

For me its showing system update failed

Solution
Hi guys,
I solved yesterday this topic and now I run Android 10.
I have followed the tutorial present in xda forum to convert from CN to WW.
Also if the release 16.0631 appear older, after you mount it you will be able to update to Android 10.
Please let me know if you need the links (also YouTube tutorial).
After you complete release installation, go to Asus official site and download the latest official version of v. 16.xxxxx update, locate on internal memory and restart phone. This update will be detected and installed.
After this step, proceed in the same way to download v. 17.xxxx (Android 10) file and install following the same procedure.

bryan1981 said:
Hi guys,
I solved yesterday this topic and now I run Android 10.
I have followed the tutorial present in xda forum to convert from CN to WW.
Also if the release 16.0631 appear older, after you mount it you will be able to update to Android 10.
Please let me know if you need the links (also YouTube tutorial).
After you complete release installation, go to Asus official site and download the latest official version of v. 16.xxxxx update, locate on internal memory and restart phone. This update will be detected and installed.
After this step, proceed in the same way to download v. 17.xxxx (Android 10) file and install following the same procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes this works also for me
The mistake was trying to update directly to 10

bryan1981 said:
Hi guys,
I solved yesterday this topic and now I run Android 10.
I have followed the tutorial present in xda forum to convert from CN to WW.
Also if the release 16.0631 appear older, after you mount it you will be able to update to Android 10.
Please let me know if you need the links (also YouTube tutorial).
After you complete release installation, go to Asus official site and download the latest official version of v. 16.xxxxx update, locate on internal memory and restart phone. This update will be detected and installed.
After this step, proceed in the same way to download v. 17.xxxx (Android 10) file and install following the same procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
can you send me the tutorial link? i tried one guide but don't work for me

iAlex5 said:
can you send me the tutorial link? i tried one guide but don't work for me
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I'm not authorized to post still link.
Go on YouTube, search the video with this name:
"Guide for Asus rog 2 tencent edition to full global rom conversion.....
Duration 24 min and 37 seconds
By: E-Got Tech

bryan1981 said:
I'm not authorized to post still link.
Go on YouTube, search the video with this name:
"Guide for Asus rog 2 tencent edition to full global rom conversion.....
Duration 24 min and 37 seconds
By: E-Got Tech
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks, i will try

bryan1981 said:
I'm not authorized to post still link.
Go on YouTube, search the video with this name:
"Guide for Asus rog 2 tencent edition to full global rom conversion.....
Duration 24 min and 37 seconds
By: E-Got Tech
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Will you loose data on your phone?
(will it wipe the phone)
Sent from my ASUS_I001DA using Tapatalk

adidasp4 said:
Will you loose data on your phone?
(will it wipe the phone)
Sent from my ASUS_I001DA using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes. back up online.

bryan1981 said:
I'm not authorized to post still link.
Go on YouTube, search the video with this name:
"Guide for Asus rog 2 tencent edition to full global rom conversion.....
Duration 24 min and 37 seconds
By: E-Got Tech
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
any luck? im wondering if I should do the same thing I have a tencent version I bought used on amazon running WW_16.0631.1910.44_0
can not figure a single way to update.

Nikws said:
Yes this works also for me
The mistake was trying to update directly to 10
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This also fixed it for me. I updated to 16.0631.1910.64 then to 17.0210.2001.60-1.1.97 and it worked. Trying to update straight to 17.0210.2001.60-1.1.97 did not work (update failed). I have a tencent rog 2 with a WW fingerprint.

Go to latest android 9 THEN android 10
bryan1981 said:
Hi guys,
I solved yesterday this topic and now I run Android 10.
I have followed the tutorial present in xda forum to convert from CN to WW.
Also if the release 16.0631 appear older, after you mount it you will be able to update to Android 10.
Please let me know if you need the links (also YouTube tutorial).
After you complete release installation, go to Asus official site and download the latest official version of v. 16.xxxxx update, locate on internal memory and restart phone. This update will be detected and installed.
After this step, proceed in the same way to download v. 17.xxxx (Android 10) file and install following the same procedure.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you very much for this, I couldn't figure out why the update kept failing. I was able to go to the latest WW 9 and now the latest WW 10:good:

[CLOSED] How to switch from OxygenOS 11 Beta firmware to OxygenOS 11 Stable firmware without deleting data and keeping root.

Please read all indications before proceeding.
Proceed always at your own risk!!!
I did the test to perform the transition from OpenBeta firmware to stable release, using the keep_data file without deleting data, and keeping the root already present on the phone.
The steps are simple, first of all you need to:
Download the complete firmware file
Download the keep_data apk file
save them in the phone's memory, after which you proceed with the local update (ignore the data deletion warning) and once the installation is completed you DO NOT NEED TO RESTART THE PHONE (if you restart now all data will be erased).
Now we install the keep_data.apk and run it, confirming that we do not want to delete the data, even now we DO NOT RESTART but we open magisk, select the "install" button next to the magisk version already present and select "install in the inactive slot (after OTA)", proceed with the installation and when completed, we can finally reboot.
We will have our Oneplus with OxygenOS 11 Stable firmware, root and magisk installed and all our data present.
I tested everything on Oneplus 7 going from OpenBeta4 to OxygenOS 11.0.1.1, I still recommend making a backup of all your data before proceeding, safety first of all.
TESTED ONLY WITH OXYGENOS 11 FIRMWARE.
The keep_data application, has been released for use with OxygenOS 11, I have no way of knowing if it is also possible to use it with OxygenOS 10.
I was a tester and everything went smoothly, no problems or abnormal behavior but
it is important to remember that proceed always at your own risk!!!
full wipe is always recommended in the transition from beta to stable and vice versa.
Good luck!
Original reference source for the keep_data.apk file, present on the oneplus forum here.
UPDATE: the guide is valid and working even using the rollback package firmware necessary to switch from OpenBeta 5 to OxygenOS 11.0.1.1
Proceed always at your own risk!!!

If I wanna try this, it means that I have to install the rollback build from here and then install the keep_data.apk, right?

kamalikhwan3 said:
If I wanna try this, it means that I have to install the rollback build from here and then install the keep_data.apk, right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didn't use the rollback package, I used the standard 11.0.1.1 firmware.
I believe that, with rollback package, wipe is done before firmware installation so keep_data apk would be useless.
However, using the standard firmware file I have not encountered any problems.
UPDATE: keep_data apk work also with rollback package firmware.

dianoandr said:
I didn't use the rollback package, I used the standard 11.0.1.1 firmware.
I believe that, with rollback package, wipe is done before firmware installation so keep_data apk would be useless.
However, using the standard firmware file I have not encountered any problems.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Alright. I already downloaded the full 11.0.1.1 firmware but now a new problem arise in which it doesn't allow me to downgrade as per the attached image. My device is OnePlus 7 Pro and currently on Open Beta 5. Is there any workaround for this?

kamalikhwan3 said:
Alright. I already downloaded the full 11.0.1.1 firmware but now a new problem arise in which it doesn't allow me to downgrade as per the attached image. My device is OnePlus 7 Pro and currently on Open Beta 5. Is there any workaround for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Unfortunately this is normal, OpenBeta 5 is newer than stable 11.0.1.1.
In this situation, the options are full wipe with the rollback firmware package, another option is to wait for a new stable firmware release, that will be newer than openbeta 5, another option is to check if the procedure I wrote also works with the firmware rollback but I have no information about it.

kamalikhwan3 said:
Alright. I already downloaded the full 11.0.1.1 firmware but now a new problem arise in which it doesn't allow me to downgrade as per the attached image. My device is OnePlus 7 Pro and currently on Open Beta 5. Is there any workaround for this?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Update from the Oneplus forum:
the guide is valid and working even using the rollback firmware necessary to switch from OpenBeta 5 to OxygenOS 11.0.1.1

Tried this just now and it works flawlessly! Thanks bud!!!! Now to wait until the pixel 6 comes out and switch to that

FYI for those who want, the new stable update V11.0.2.1 can be updated over Beta 5 without having to use the rollback update and using the keep_data apk works to avoid wiping data when flashing.

Hello is that working for Update from 11.0.0.2 to 11.0.2.1 without losing root ?

prad1po said:
Hello is that working for Update from 11.0.0.2 to 11.0.2.1 without losing root ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, this guide Is only for switch from beta firmware to stable without data wipe.
For update firmware without losing root, follow this step (before to start make a BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP,
BACKUP, BACKUP ):
Remove all installed magisk module and reboot phone.
Download full firmware 11.0.2.1 and save in phone storage memory.
Install new firmware but DO NOT REBOOT WHEN INSTALLATION IS COMPLETE.
Open Magisk and select "install" in magisk section.
Select "Install to inactive slot (After OTA update)".
When magisk installation end, reboot your phone.
Restore your magisk module.
Finish...latest firmware release installed and rooted .
Regards.

Thank you
My phone is rooted with a modified boot.img
It will work also ?

prad1po said:
Thank you
My phone is rooted with a modified boot.img
It will work also ?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, work only with pre-rooted phone, to retain root after a firmware update

thanks for your help
it's worked perfectly

Just used this to rollback from Open Beta 5 to stable, thank you!!

Will it work with a prerooted phone?
I mean I am just on beta build (didn't root). Can I install the stable firmware and use the app to retain the data? Or is root a pre-requisite?

Shubham87 said:
Will it work with a prerooted phone?
I mean I am just on beta build (didn't root). Can I install the stable firmware and use the app to retain the data? Or is root a pre-requisite?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Root privileges is not required to perform the firmware change while retaining user data, just ignore the magisk installation step and reboot phone after running the keep_data application

dianoandr said:
Root privileges is not required to perform the firmware change while retaining user data, just ignore the magisk installation step and reboot phone after running the keep_data application
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you.
I have a new problem now. Local upgrade is not allowing me to install the 11.0.0.2.GM21AA firmware. I am currently running O2_Beta_5.
Local upgrade says "Version of selected package is lower than that of current system, hence downgrading not allowed".
Please help.

Shubham87 said:
Thank you.
I have a new problem now. Local upgrade is not allowing me to install the 11.0.0.2.GM21AA firmware. I am currently running O2_Beta_5.
Local upgrade says "Version of selected package is lower than that of current system, hence downgrading not allowed".
Please help.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You cannot update with "Local upgrade" feature, if the new firmware is older than the firmware installed on the phone.
If you currently have Openbeta 5 firmware, you can install the stable 11.0.2.1 or the latest 11.0.3.1.
The downgrade is still possible but requires a specific firmware package and the complete data wipe.

Thread closed on request of OP @dianoandr as the OP doesn't possess the device any longer!

How To Guide Updating the firmware (If it does not appear in the settings)

Updating from an update file​I have been seeing a lot of posts about people not receiving the OTA on their phone, and got tired of linking my instructions, so I decided to make a separate post​
Download the version that you need from the Asus Zenfone 8 Support page (Note that if you are not on the latest Android 11 firmware (30.12.112.72), you will not be able to Android 12. So you need to do these steps with the latest Android 11, and then re-do them for the Android 12 firmware)
Plug in your phone to your computer, make sure the computer is trusted and that you can transfer files from the PC to the phone.
Move the zip file of the update in the base directory of the phone (The same directory as Alarms, Downloads, etc).
Wait for the transfer to finish, then you can unplug your phone if you want.
Reboot the phone
After the reboot, the phone will take a few seconds/minutes and will notify you that an update file was found, select the option to update the phone
It will then extract the update and install it all by itself, the normal update procedure starts from there
​

not work for me :/

I've spent a couple of hours yesterday to get this thing working. Basically, the Android 12 update will only update from specific image. I will try to describe the whole process below.
You have to do this process to upgrade all the way up to 30.12.112.7. If you have anything else, it won't work.
First, I've reverted back to stock, using
WW-ZS590KS-31.0803.0403.54-user_20210831-release.zip
... which contains the full flash scripts.
In my case, I had to do these delta upgrades manually (so copying the zip to root of sdcard memory).
UL-I006D-ASUS-30.12.112.56-1.1.31-user.zip
UL-I006D-ASUS-30.12.112.62-1.1.31-user.zip
UL-I006D-ASUS-30.12.112.72-1.1.31-user.zip
UL-I006D-ASUS-31.1004.0404.81-1.1.25-2111-user.zip
Number 4 is actual android 12 update. Hope this helps anyone.

eVen123 said:
I've spent a couple of hours yesterday to get this thing working. Basically, the Android 12 update will only update from specific image. I will try to describe the whole process below.
You have to do this process to upgrade all the way up to 30.12.112.7. If you have anything else, it won't work.
First, I've reverted back to stock, using
WW-ZS590KS-31.0803.0403.54-user_20210831-release.zip
... which contains the full flash scripts.
In my case, I had to do these delta upgrades manually (so copying the zip to root of sdcard memory).
UL-I006D-ASUS-30.12.112.56-1.1.31-user.zip
UL-I006D-ASUS-30.12.112.62-1.1.31-user.zip
UL-I006D-ASUS-30.12.112.72-1.1.31-user.zip
UL-I006D-ASUS-31.1004.0404.81-1.1.25-2111-user.zip
Number 4 is actual android 12 update. Hope this helps anyone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think that what is needed is to update to the latest firmware, then Android 12. So if you are already on Android 11, but not latest firmware, install it with the instructions, then do the same to update to Android 12's latest version.
drum94 said:
not work for me :/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What part does not work? Please be more specific and also, you should re-read the steps more carefully, in case you missed something

The android version I currently have is 30.12.112.72
I downloaded version 31.1004.0404.81 from the asus site to have android 12 on my zenfone 8.
I copied the folder without extracting it and put it in my phone's internal storage next to the other folders.
Once the copy was finished I restarted my phone so that it offered me the update but it did not offer it to me.
I do not understand why .

drum94 said:
The android version I currently have is 30.12.112.72
I downloaded version 31.1004.0404.81 from the asus site to have android 12 on my zenfone 8.
I copied the folder without extracting it and put it in my phone's internal storage next to the other folders.
Once the copy was finished I restarted my phone so that it offered me the update but it did not offer it to me.
I do not understand why .
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It also depends what prefix your installation has. See the first letters
UL-...
If you are from some other region, it could be that UL- is not a fitting upgrade option for you. As far as I can tell, it's not possible to tell which of the versions you have.

I give you the build number which is marked in the software information:
RKQ1.2021022.002.30.12.112.72
I have the right version or not suddenly?

Thank you for the quick tutorial. I was doing this via fastboot till now.
However: I upgraded to the latest firmware BEFORE Android 12. No issues.
Then I upgraded to the Android 12 firmware: stuck. Gave me some kind of ram dump, reboot returned me to the same error: bootloop. I was able to reboot and get to the bootloader. After selecting "recovery" it actually booted Android. And now for the weird part: it looks like I have a mix of Android 11 and Android 12 now! The phone is all but unusable for how slow it is. But the main UI looks like Android 11 still, but things like the reboot screen now look like Android 12. Bizarre...
I was at least able to enable ADB debug again, so I think I will be able to recover the phone. Still a weird issue though. Don't know if flashing with fastboot would have prevented it...

If anything fails, you can always try the Asus flash script it will solve most of the issues with your phone, just note that it installs Android 11 (30.11.51.115)
https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/full-recover-to-stock-if-things-went-really-bad.4337467/
EDIT: nvm, I saw your other reply, you alreay tried that. Were you able to get it working again?

Going from WW-30.12.112.82 to WW-31.1004.0404.107 worked flawlessly, i did not lose settings or data on that upgrade (but I want to stress that a good backup is STILL a very good thing to have!) It then started downloading the 31.1010.0410.43 upgrade on its own. (shown in the ui as SKQ1.210821.001.31.1010.0410.43)
Why didn't I upgrade to the latest one myself? Simple: I goofed up and downloaded the older one.

change the name in UL-ASUS_I006D-ASUS-99.1004.0404.82-1.1.31-9999-user.zip

Hi, has anyone tried to upgrade a firmware that has Magisk and TWRP installed? Today Android 13 has been released for the Zenfone 8, but I wouldn't really like to do something really dumb such as upgrading, rebooting to recovery to reinstall Magisk only to discover that TWRP has been replaced by the stock recovery and the phone completely erases any data it has stored.

You can update by putting the fw in sdcard folder, while keeping magisk (you need to restore images before updating and reinstalling magisk in the inactive slot after updating, then reboot). Otherwise, you can just update through system or through twrp, and after that, boot/flash twrp and install magisk again. In both ways you won't lose any data

Rokcy98 said:
You can update by putting the fw in sdcard folder, while keeping magisk (you need to restore images before updating and reinstalling magisk in the inactive slot after updating, then reboot). Otherwise, you can just update through system or through twrp, and after that, boot/flash twrp and install magisk again. In both ways you won't lose any data
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you! As this is my first phone with A/B slots, I wasn't completely sure about how to proceed. I'll follow your instructions! The only thing I don't get is where is TWRP stored and why it won't be overwritten by the update.
EDIT: installed successfully, thanks!

How can I install an OTA update from downloaded file

I don't want to install the latest Android 12 OTA update. I have downloaded an OTA file for the Note 9 Android 11 update. How can I install this file? The phone currently runs 12.0.8.0 Global firmware with Android 10.

mars08 said:
I don't want to install the latest Android 12 OTA update. I have downloaded an OTA file for the Note 9 Android 11 update. How can I install this file? The phone currently runs 12.0.8.0 Global firmware with Android 10.
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Click to collapse
Go to the updater, 3 points at the top right, select an update file.

NOSS8 said:
Go to the updater, 3 points at the top right, select an update file.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the quick reply. Would I use the OTA file or the recovery download? Does this process delete my current apps, settings and data?

mars08 said:
Thanks for the quick reply. Would I use the OTA file or the recovery download? Does this process delete my current apps, settings and data?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If the update was offered to you by OTA, use OTA.
With the recovery rom, you force the update, the installation can be refused or caused a bootloop.
The installation will not erase your data.
If the bootloader is unlocked in case of bootloop, you can recover your phone, if you lock it will be more complicated.

Thanks for your advice. I'm going to back up my apps and data just in case something goes wrong... then I'll go with the OTA update.